From d3b88960942b14a01f021d0f39c0383646d32024 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Chris Lu <chris.lu@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2026 13:23:19 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] fix: skip empty folder cleanup for directory markers

Explicitly created directory markers (zero-byte S3 objects with keys
ending in "/") should not be auto-deleted by the empty folder cleaner
even when they have no children. These represent intentional directory
structures created via PutObject.

The distinction between implicit and explicit directories is:
- Implicit dirs: created by filer as parents, Mime="" (IsOlderDir)
- Explicit markers: created via PutObject, Mime set or ExtMimeType set

Added isDirectoryMarker() check before deletion that looks for
ExtMimeType in extended attributes (set only on zero-byte markers).
Results are cached in folderState to avoid repeated store lookups.
Uses fail-closed on transient errors but allows deletion on ErrNotFound
(entry doesn't exist = implicit directory, not a marker).
---
 .../empty_folder_cleaner.go                   | 63 +++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 59 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/weed/filer/empty_folder_cleanup/empty_folder_cleaner.go b/weed/filer/empty_folder_cleanup/empty_folder_cleaner.go
index 943d86c6f..1103d1d56 100644
--- a/weed/filer/empty_folder_cleanup/empty_folder_cleaner.go
+++ b/weed/filer/empty_folder_cleanup/empty_folder_cleaner.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package empty_folder_cleanup
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -31,10 +32,11 @@ type FilerOperations interface {
 
 // folderState tracks the state of a folder for empty folder cleanup
 type folderState struct {
-	roughCount  int       // Cached rough count (up to maxCountCheck)
-	lastAddTime time.Time // Last time an item was added
-	lastDelTime time.Time // Last time an item was deleted
-	lastCheck   time.Time // Last time we checked the actual count
+	roughCount        int       // Cached rough count (up to maxCountCheck)
+	lastAddTime       time.Time // Last time an item was added
+	lastDelTime       time.Time // Last time an item was deleted
+	lastCheck         time.Time // Last time we checked the actual count
+	isDirectoryMarker *bool     // Cached check for whether this folder is a directory marker (nil = not checked)
 }
 
 type bucketCleanupPolicyState struct {
@@ -312,6 +314,30 @@ func (efc *EmptyFolderCleaner) executeCleanup(folder string, triggeredBy string)
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Check if folder is a directory marker (explicitly created S3 object)
+	// Directory markers should not be auto-deleted even if empty
+	// Use cached value if available to avoid repeated store lookups
+	efc.mu.Lock()
+	state := efc.folderCounts[folder]
+	var isMarker bool
+	if state != nil && state.isDirectoryMarker != nil {
+		isMarker = *state.isDirectoryMarker
+	} else {
+		efc.mu.Unlock()
+		isMarker = efc.isDirectoryMarker(ctx, folder)
+		// Cache the result
+		efc.mu.Lock()
+		if state, exists := efc.folderCounts[folder]; exists && state != nil {
+			state.isDirectoryMarker = &isMarker
+		}
+	}
+	efc.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if isMarker {
+		glog.V(3).Infof("EmptyFolderCleaner: skipping deletion of directory marker %s (triggered by %s), it was explicitly created", folder, triggeredBy)
+		return
+	}
+
 	// Delete the empty folder
 	glog.Infof("EmptyFolderCleaner: deleting empty folder %s (triggered by %s)", folder, triggeredBy)
 	if err := efc.deleteFolder(ctx, folder); err != nil {
@@ -339,6 +365,35 @@ func (efc *EmptyFolderCleaner) deleteFolder(ctx context.Context, folder string)
 	return efc.filer.DeleteEntryMetaAndData(ctx, util.FullPath(folder), false, false, false, false, nil, 0)
 }
 
+// isDirectoryMarker checks if a folder is a directory marker (explicitly created S3 directory key object)
+// Directory markers have a MIME type set in extended attributes (ExtMimeType).
+// Returns true (fail-closed) on transient errors to prevent accidental deletion,
+// but returns false for ErrNotFound (entry doesn't exist, e.g. implicit directories).
+func (efc *EmptyFolderCleaner) isDirectoryMarker(ctx context.Context, folder string) bool {
+	attrs, err := efc.filer.GetEntryAttributes(ctx, util.FullPath(folder))
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, filer_pb.ErrNotFound) {
+			// Entry doesn't exist in filer (implicit directory) — not a directory marker
+			return false
+		}
+		// Fail-closed on transient errors: assume it's a directory marker
+		// to prevent accidental deletion due to temporary attribute read failures.
+		glog.V(2).Infof("EmptyFolderCleaner: error reading attributes for %s, skipping deletion (fail-closed): %v", folder, err)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	if attrs == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// Check if MIME type is set in extended attributes (where we store it for directory markers)
+	if _, hasMime := attrs[s3_constants.ExtMimeType]; hasMime {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
 func (efc *EmptyFolderCleaner) getBucketCleanupPolicy(ctx context.Context, folder string) (bucketPath string, autoRemove bool, source string, attrValue string, err error) {
 	bucketPath, ok := util.ExtractBucketPath(efc.bucketPath, folder, true)
 	if !ok {